Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by ALBERTS, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by NYGREN, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by ALBERTS, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by NYGREN, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

International Journal for Quality in Health Care 5:13-17 (1993)
© 1993 International Society for Quality in Health Care

Major Differences in Trauma Care between Hospitals in Sweden: A Preliminary Report

KARL AKKE ALBERTS, Associate Professor*, BO BRISMAR, Associate Professor{dagger} and ÅKE NYGREN, Professor{ddagger}

* Department of Orthopaedies, Karolinska Hospital S-10401 Stockholm, Sweden
{dagger} Department of Surgery, Huddinge University Hospital S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden
{ddagger} Folksam Insurance Co, Research and Development Division S-106 60 Stockholm, Sweden

The quality of trauma care has been studied at five different Swedish hospitals. The results suggest that improvements in the quality of medical care for patients with severe road traffic injuries can be achieved by reorganizing the highly decentralized trauma care system in Sweden. Above all there is a need for a better structure and organization of the on-call system and of the cooperation of physicians of different specialities within the hospital. The medical care of patients with severe injuries was delayed in 30% and was inappropriate in 7% of cases. Assessment of the quality showed great variation between the hospitals. The medical care was in fact not best at the university hospital but at one well-functioning small hospital. It was an effect of an on-call system at the small hospital, which guarantees rapid participation of senior staff in both general surgery and orthopaedic surgery. The greatest problems arose in early diagnosis and treatment of bleeding in abdominal injuries. This was caused by inexperience in the first oncall team in combination with late assessment by second on-call consultants. Fractures of the femoral shaft in almost half of the cases did not get definitive surgery until several days after the accident.

Keywords: Trauma care, audit, major trauma

Received for publication September 23, 1992. Accepted for publication October 23, 1992.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.